Transcript of Venerable Tsemang’s Recent Talks with Buddhists

(Translated from the Chinese transcript issued by the Holy Miracles Temple on April 15, 2022)

During the last few days, Buddhist disciples who have come here from all over the world, to attend the prayer Dharma assemblies at the Holy Miracles Temple, have gradually returned to their respective countries. Venerable Tsemang has met with some Buddhist disciples several times at their requests to address some of their concerns. Below is the summary of what Venerable Tsemang talked about during those meetings with some masters. Venerable Tsemang has reviewed the transcript and given us permission to release it to the public.

Today, I have made time to meet with all of you. Previously, throughout the duration of the prayer Dharma assemblies, some people wanted to talk to me about certain matters, but I declined most of their requests for a few reasons: Firstly, I am a living being filled with tremendous humility. Even though I have continually been learning, my cultivation is very poor, and I have no actualized realization power. I am unable to resolve many of your problems.

Secondly, I do not know most of you. In the past few years, most of the time when the Buddha Master was only giving audiences to Buddhist disciples, but not imparting Dharma, I was not present. They all know this. That was because I did not want to get to know people. I also have plenty of work to tend to. Therefore, I don’t know most people who attended the prayer Dharma assemblies at the Holy Miracles Temple this time.

Thirdly, I do not have enough time. I want to spend most of my time on the organization and translation of the audio recorded Dharmas imparted by His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III. This is a task that no one else can do on my behalf.

Another reason, frankly speaking, is that I am afraid that once you step outside the door, you will incorrectly relay to others what I have said, or even completely distort the meaning of what I said. That will cause problems. Just like some time ago when I openly spoke at the Holy Miracles Temple, once my words were disseminated by others on the Internet, the meaning was no longer the same. Most of the things they said were not what I meant. Some people even said things that were contrary to what I said.

That’s why you can see that I have brought an audio recorder today to record my own words. Why? If in the future you relay my meaning incorrectly, at least I will have evidence. At the same time, in the future, when I listen to it again, if I find anything that I said incorrectly, I will be able to tell you what was incorrect and make it right. This is because in any discussion involving knowledge and views about Buddha Dharma, we must be extremely serious and cautious, and cannot be in any way sloppy or careless.

I do know some of you who are here today, but I have not met most of you. I think perhaps I will first address some of your concerns by sharing some of my personal points of views for your reference. These are questions that many of you have asked. After I finish talking, if you have further questions, we can discuss them then. I would like to emphasize that I am a living being filled with humility. It was out of compassion that the Buddha allowed me to stay by His side and therefore I probably have had more opportunities than others in listening to teachings of the Buddha. I perhaps started learning from the Buddha a few years earlier than some other people.

That said, I cannot say that it means my points of views are correct. I am definitely not giving a Dharma discourse here. I have already said so many times on different occasions: I am not qualified to give a discourse on Dharma. What I am about to say is simply my thoughts and opinions, based on some personal experiences in learning from the Buddha and cultivating myself. They are for your reference only. If you think what I said has deviated from the teachings of the Buddha, you are welcome to point out what I have said incorrectly, so that I can make amends.

The first aspect is about a question that many of you, who are masters, have asked: what you should do when you return to where you came from. If I am to answer this question fully and in intricate detail, it is essentially about how we may attain accomplishment and liberation within this lifetime. If I am to talk about this briefly, it can also be very simple. It is simply about abiding by the precepts, cultivating ourselves, and practicing Dharma. I believe neither option of responding is what you want. Therefore, I have listed a few actual things that I will briefly talk about one by one.

1. Continue to chant Sutras, pray and beseech His Holiness the Buddha and Fomu, Holy Mother the Great Mahasattva, to return to the human world to save us living beings.

Why did the Buddha and Fomu, Holy Mother the Great Mahasattva, enter parinirvana? The fundamental reason is the dark karma of us living beings! That’s why every one of us must repent at any time, and not just pay lip service, but sincerely repent of all the sinful karma that we have committed during this lifetime and at this moment. Many people, when they repent, only habitually chant verses such as “I repent all dark karma stemming from greed, aversion and ignorance since beginningless time.” This kind of fake repentance is simply attributing our sins to what has happened in our past lives.

My point of view on this issue is exactly the opposite. It is precisely due to the positive karmic conditions we have accumulated since beginningless time that we have had the good fortune in this lifetime to follow and learn from His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III to cultivate ourselves. It is also precisely since we have not cultivated ourselves well during this lifetime up to now, that we still haven’t attained accomplishment and liberation. Therefore, to genuinely repent is to correct all our bad habits in this lifetime that do not accord with the teachings and admonition of the Buddha and enable ourselves to become a genuine cultivator.

The conditions of birth and death do not apply to a Buddha. When we, living beings, have good retribution, the Buddha appears in this world. When living beings no longer have such good fortune, the Buddha enters parinirvana. In the past, Ancient Buddhas did that, Namo Shakyamuni Buddha did that, and now His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III has also done the same.

I will tell you about an incident that I personally experienced. In January, 1996, I accompanied His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III and Fomu, Holy Mother the Great Mahasattva, to Shenzhen. Fellow Brother Li Dehe was the general manager of Luohu Hotel at the time. He set up a temporary mandala on the top floor of the hotel, the 16th floor, for the Buddha Master to impart Dharma and grant audiences to disciples. One day at noon, it was time to respectfully ask the Buddha Master and Fomu to have lunch. However, we could not find the Buddha Master anywhere. I went to the 16th floor mandala to look for the Buddha Master, but no one was there, it was empty. After a while, a fellow sister also went to the mandala to look for the Buddha Master, but nobody was there.

Shortly afterwards, fellow sister Liu Ge went to the mandala again and there was still nobody there. She did not leave the mandala immediately and was looking at her own reflection in the big mirror right next to the door, with her back toward the window. The glass window was sealed and could be seen from the reflection of the mirror. Suddenly, she saw from the mirror that a foot appeared through the window, then the Buddha Master stepped into the room from the sky through the window. Fellow sister Liu Ge was so startled that she screamed out loud. We ran over there immediately and found the Buddha Master seated at the mandala. Fellow sister Liu Ge then told us what had happened and everything she saw. The reason why I’m telling you this incident, putting it in mundane terms, is to say that the kind of holy power that the Buddha and Fomu, Holy Mother the Great Mahasattva, possess is not something we can comprehend at all. The only thing for us to do is to repent with utmost sincerity and invoke the Buddha and Fomu to return to this world and continue to teach us and save us.

2. Buddhist disciples should be compassionate, supportive, and helpful to each other. In particular, masters must guide your groups well, develop new people, and do not solicit people from other groups to join your group.

Buddha Master said this many times. Among us, Buddhist disciples are not supportive of each other and are far inferior to Christians in this aspect. Some people who have been learning from Buddha for a relatively longer time, or some people who wear rinpoche or acharya attires tend to always criticize others in a condescending manner. The root cause of such behavior is not having compassion. I hope that after you return to your own country, you will guide your group to treat each other as family, to help and support each other when facing adversities. When one person has difficulties, everyone should help this person and resolve the problem together. If you cannot even do this, yet you still claim to be cultivating yourself, and you still want to attain liberation, it will be simply impossible.

Do not form cliques or factions. This is something that Buddha Master greatly opposed. We are Buddhist disciples, we are cultivators. As Buddhist cultivators, we should be broad-minded, rather than furthering our narrow- mindedness while cultivating ourselves. As long as living beings are able to listen to the audio recorded Dharmas imparted by His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III, and are cultivating themselves, we should be happy for them regardless of where they listen to the audio recorded Dharmas and which group they join. Buddhist disciples are not anyone’s personal property.

3. We must earnestly and respectfully listen to the audio recorded Dharma Discourses imparted by His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III, because they are the source from which we obtain correct knowledge and views. I can even say that in this Dharma Degeneration Age, any Buddhist disciple wanting to attain accomplishment and liberation must listen to the audio recorded Dharmas imparted by His Holiness the Buddha. Whether you are a rinpoche, an acharya, or a master of Dharma listening sessions, your duty is to guide others to listen to the Discourses upon your own foundation of listening to audio recorded Dharma Discourses. This is most important. When you have done this well, your merit will grow.

In many audio recorded Dharma Discourses, His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III teaches us how to listen to Dharma in order to attain beneficial effects. Personally, I want to bring everyone’s attention to the following points: First, do not selectively listen to Dharma Discourses based on your personal preferences. We must listen to all the Dharma Discourses comprehensively. Second, when we have questions, we should seek answers to our questions in the Dharma Discourses. The purpose of listening to Dharma Discourses is to obtain correct knowledge and views to guide our cultivation, to resolve the issues we encounter in our daily lives, in our work, and in our cultivation. If someone says that they have not encountered any problems in their cultivation, they would be a Great Bodhisattva, I would congratulate them and learn from them. If that’s not the case, then their issue is so serious that they aren’t even aware of their own problems. Think about this: if they don’t have any problems, why would they still be an ordinary living being? Why are they still being transmigrated in samsara? This explains why these people have very serious problems, and they should make a sincere effort to listen to the audio recorded Dharmas imparted by the Buddha with great respect. You might think that listening to all the Dharma Discourses in a comprehensive manner is contradictory to trying to find answers from Dharma Discourses. They are, in fact, one and the same. If you try to do so conscientiously, you will realize it for yourselves.

4. Cultivating ourselves in a solid and practical manner is the foundation for attaining accomplishment and liberation. In my personal opinion, the most important reason His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III came to this world is to correct the many errors made by patriarchs, and to emphasize that cultivation is the foundation for attaining liberation. That’s why Buddha Master always admonishes us that we must cultivate ourselves. Buddha Master imparted many Dharmas on what we need to pay attention to when we cultivate ourselves. You can listen to the audio recorded Dharma Discourses and practice accordingly. What I must emphasize today is: As a Buddhist disciple, regardless of what title you have, whether you are a Dharma master, a rinpoche, an acharya, or a master of Dharma listening sessions, you must never make money through Buddhist disciples. In other words, if you sell products, conduct businesses through Buddhist disciples from your group or other groups, or make pretense that such practices are for everyone to build good fortune and wealth together, then you have already deviated from the correct path of learning from Buddha and cultivating yourself.

If you involve yourself in scams, such as fraudulent multi-level marketing schemes, the so-called “national asset projects !”#$,” or any kind of illegal businesses explicitly forbidden by the government, then you are defrauding people and what you are doing is criminal.

This is extremely important! Buddha Master and Fomu, Holy Mother the Great Mahasattva, have always helped disciples, but have never conducted any businesses to make money through Buddhist disciples. Regardless of who, if anyone coerces Buddhist disciples to buy products or engage in multi-level marketing, Buddhist disciples should sever relations with them.

Some people might not be swindling others for money directly. They might build their fame in a dishonest manner and gather many followers first, before starting to deceive people to obtain money. For example, some people claim that in their dream, Buddha Master gave them holy amrita, and therefore, they can cure diseases very effectively. Some people claim that the Buddha and Fomu, Holy Mother the Great Mahasattva, have empowered them, and that’s why they can enter dhyāna while listening to audio recorded Dharma Discourses. Some even claim they can live without eating or drinking for months, and so on and so forth. Those people are all liars!

Announcements from the World Buddhism Association Headquarters have made it very clear: Only by using the 18 Dharmas that were publicly announced can the level of a person’s actualized realization power be determined. If you claim that you have actualized realization power, then contact the World Buddhism Association Headquarters and register to take the exam. The result will be publicly announced.

After you return to where you came from, not only must you make sure that you don’t deceive others, you must also prevent other Buddhist disciples from being cheated. If you know anyone who has deviated from the teachings of the Buddha and is defrauding others, you must report them to the Headquarters immediately. If there is a criminal conduct, you should report the culprits to the police directly, so that these perpetrators will be brought to justice. In the entire field of Buddhism in the world, only Namo His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III and the World Buddhism Association Headquarters have publicly denounced their Buddhist disciples, some of whom are masters, for conduct that does not accord with Dharma. Why? By following the teachings and precepts imparted by His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III and Namo Shakyamuni Buddha, the Headquarters handles matters in a fair and unbiased manner in accordance with Dharma.

5. All Buddhist disciples must obey the laws and regulations of their respective countries and regions. This is also critically important. As Buddhist disciples, our goal is to attain liberation, to save ourselves in order to save others. We do not get involved with politics. That said, regardless of which country you’re in, Buddhist disciples must obey the laws and regulations of their respective countries and regions. Different countries have different conditions, so naturally, there are different laws and stipulations. It is essential for a government to maintain order. Some time ago, a rinpoche told me that China currently does not allow people to learn Buddha Dharma imparted by Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III. I told this person that there is no such thing, based on four points:

1) The country’s constitution stipulates that its citizens have freedom of religion. There is no law or regulation forbidding people to learn Buddhism!

Therefore, we can openly learn from Buddha. We are upstanding Buddhist disciples, what do we need to be afraid of?

2) Buddhism was established by Namo Shakyamuni Buddha in India. Buddhism is a foreign religion in China. However, after more than 2000 years of being propagated in China, Buddhism has been integrated into and has become a part of the traditional Chinese culture. It is in Chinese language that Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III propagates the most authentic, profound, and incisive teachings of Buddhism, Buddha studies, and Buddha Dharma to the world. When Buddhist disciples around the world study Sutras and the audio recorded Dharmas imparted by Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III, not only can they learn the absolutely correct Buddhist teachings, they can also learn about and assimilate the essence of traditional Chinese and Han culture. This is a significant driving force in the promotion of Chinese and Han culture. What’s wrong with that?

3) Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III always teaches Buddhist disciples, through His Sutras and audio recorded Dharma Discourses, not to do anything evil, and do all kinds of good deeds, as well as to love, protect and help each other, to obey the law, respect the elderly, care for the young, care for each other, contribute to our country, and promote world peace. A true Buddhist disciple is therefore a good member of their family, an active member of society, and a good citizen of their country.

4) People who have fears in their mind can be categorized into two types: The first type subconsciously believes that learning from the Buddha is wrong and not permitted. If you think that way, why continue to learn from the Buddha? This type of people still wants to attain accomplishment through learning from the Buddha. Isn’t that ridiculous? The second type uses learning from Buddha as a tool to conduct business. Some even engage in illegal businesses, such as cryptocurrency and multi-level marketing forbidden by some governments. Some of them even defraud groups of people, and so on and so forth. These kinds of acts that promote chaos and disturb society are inherently illegal and should be forbidden.

If you are learning from the Buddha and not doing anything illegal, why would you be afraid?

6. Another one of your concerns is about how we can learn Dharma. Actually, the answer to this question is very simple. Once you have cultivated yourself well, the natural progression is for you to receive Buddha Dharma. If your conduct does not accord with Dharma, even if a Dharma had been transmitted to you, it would be futile. Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III told me about a person who repeatedly beseeched the Buddha to transmit Dharma to her. The Buddha was very compassionate and did transmit Dharma to her. After a while, she came to the Buddha and said that she was having a hard time making a living and needed to make some money before resuming her Dharma practice. Do you think the Dharma is of any use to her? Will the Yidam and Dharma Protectors still be there for her? In the face of true Buddha Dharma, we choose Dharma over our own lives, let alone a Dharma being transmitted personally by His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III. That’s why, this person has basically ruined that Dharma.

As you can see, cultivating ourselves and having correct knowledge and views are very important. They are the foundation of our Dharma practice. Once our foundation is well built, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will know. The natural progression is that Dharma Kings and Great Holy Gurus will transmit Buddha Dharma to you. Also, I recommend that you directly study and practice the Supreme and Unsurpassable Mahamudra of Liberation. The Supreme and Unsurpassable Mahamudra of Liberation that combines cultivation practice with Dharma practice. It is the best way to practice. It would be best to have a Master transmit it to you, but if you don’t have a Master, you can also study and practice it yourself. You do not need anyone to transmit it to you. Anyone who steadfastly practices it in accordance with Dharma will attain accomplishment. His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III said so a long time ago.

7. Many people also asked about protecting Dharma. In fact, learning, protecting, and propagating Dharma are a trinity. We must first learn Buddha Dharma, and in the process of learning, we protect and support Buddha Dharma. Eventually, when we receive beneficial effects, we must propagate Dharma for more people to learn It. The Dharma Learning from Buddha imparted by His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III has been published into a book, as well as audio recorded Dharma Discourse CD’s, in which His Holiness the Buddha has spoken a great deal about protecting Dharma. Protecting Dharma is an integral part of our cultivation as Buddhist disciples. If a Buddhist disciple does not protect Dharma, they are no longer a Buddhist disciple!

About protecting Dharma, many people are easily confused about one thing: Protecting Dharma means protecting the Buddha and protecting Buddha Dharma, not protecting their own interest. They are completely different concepts. It means when the name of the Buddha is tarnished, or when Buddha Dharma is damaged, we come forward without any hesitation to refute evil demons. However, when our own reputation and interest are compromised, we must practice forbearance. This is the most important principle in our cultivation and in protecting Dharma. Yet these days, some people are doing exactly the opposite.

In today’s world, only the Buddha Dharma imparted by Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III can enable living beings to attain liberation. Sutras by Namo Shakyamuni Buddha have been tampered with by the descendants of the Demon King Mara. There are also translation errors. Some people also find it hard to understand ancient language. As a result, it becomes extremely difficult for average people to attain accomplishment through studying the Sutras of Namo Shakyamuni Buddha. Therefore, after you return home, you need to learn and promote the audio recorded Dharma Discourses and Sutras of Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III!

The second aspect is about an incident mentioned in the recent announcement issued by the World Buddhism Association Headquarters.

It was originally a very simple matter. However, many people with incorrect knowledge and views have turned it into a very complicated matter.

About this matter, I must be the first to repent. I feel that it is due to my lacking virtue and abilities that such a situation had happened. Under whatever circumstances, having an altercation in the Grand Hall of Shakyamuni Buddha was an extremely evil and sinful behavior. The Holy Miracles Temple is the one and only temple in the world where Buddha once bestowed holy amrita, and where the Grand Hall of Shakyamuni Buddha is an Inner Tantric Mandala. Most importantly, His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III and Fomu, Holy Mother the Great Mahasattva, were still inside the Grand Hall when the altercation happened. Having an altercation and hitting people inside the Grand Hall is extremely disrespectful to His Holiness the Buddha and Fomu. That was terrible! I feel very sad. As a disciple, I was truly ashamed in front of the Buddha and Fomu!

Of course, what was being described in the Headquarters’ announcement was factual, and the Headquarters’ decision was indeed correct. Everyone should know that the Holy Gurus at the Headquarters would not err on causality, otherwise they would not have passed the holy exam nor become Holy Gurus! Therefore, if someone doubts the Holy Gurus at the Headquarters and choose rather to believe an ordinary person, I can only say that this kind of person is extremely ignorant. Perhaps they are by nature evil people with deliberate intentions to undermine Buddha Dharma! Think about this: If you don’t even understand such a simple question and such a basic concept, and you claim to be learning from Buddha to cultivate yourself, haven’t you learned all that in vain? Isn’t your learning from Buddha and cultivating yourself just a lie? Therefore, this incident reflects that some people’s knowledge and views are problematic, and I feel that I must talk about it briefly.

First, from this incident, we can see the difference between a real and an ingenuine cultivator. At the very least, as a person involved in the incident, regardless of whether you consider the Headquarters’ announcement factual, the first step you should take is to practice forbearance. This is the very least a cultivator should do. If you practice forbearance, then even if you have done wrong, you have now done the right thing. Because even though you have already done wrong, you are now practicing forbearance and cultivating yourself according to the teachings of the Buddha. If you do not practice forbearance, yet for the sake of saving face and preserving self-interests, and driven by your temper, you vent your grievances and want to deny your wrongdoing, then even if you did not participate in the altercation or hit people, you are now in the wrong, because you have deviated from practicing cultivation.

Not to mention you did indeed hit someone, and then lied about that on the Internet. Furthermore, during the Dharma assemblies, you said you repent your sinful karma in front of the Buddha and Fomu, yet afterwards, you brought chaos and hit people in the Grand Hall. Think about it: In doing so, aren’t you inflicting yourself with additional sins? How could you be so ignorant? From my personal point of view, this kind of sin cannot be resolved by repenting in the normal way. Do you know why? Because this is a direct offence against the Buddha and Fomu. Other than Buddhas, Equal Enlightenment Bodhisattvas, or Wondrous Enlightenment Bodhisattvas, any other Bodhisattvas will not and dare not accept her repentance.

The second point is about the issue of making vows. Many people said that she has already made a vow. Could the vow be false? These people don’t understand the meaning of making vows. Perhaps the person who made the vow doesn’t even understand the meaning. Buddha Master once talked about this, but I cannot remember whether it is in one of the audio recorded Dharma Discourses. I did personally hear the Buddha Master said this: Even if you are very sincere in making a vow, it usually takes 12 years for the consequence of the vow to manifest, as causality takes time to ripen.

Therefore, if a person vows that they didn’t do a certain thing, and that if they did, they will be hit by a car once they step outside the door, or they will immediately go bankrupt and die, or they will lose their job the next day, etc., these are not realistic vows. It is because this kind of vow will not come true immediately. Since many people do not understand this, they think that the person who made the vow must be speaking the truth. As a result, they have been deceived.

If you don’t believe me, we can do an experiment now. If one person here slaps the next person, then immediately make a vow saying that you have not slapped anyone, and if what you said is false, you will be hit by a car and die once you step outside the door. Let me tell you, when you go outside now, as long as you do not intentionally run into a car to be hit, you definitely will not be killed by a car. Even if you intentionally run into a car to be hit, you still might not die. In China, many people defraud people for money by pretending to be hit by other people’s cars. Those are real life examples. Have all those people been killed by cars?

Well, here comes the problem. We clearly saw you hitting someone on the spot, but you swore that you didn’t hit anyone. Yet when you stepped outside, you were not hit by a car and you did not die. Does it mean that your vow now proves that you did not hit anyone? Are we supposed to trust our eyes or your vow? In the past, when Buddhists made vows, they often bet themselves against “not attaining liberation.” “descending to hell after death,” or “falling into the three lower realms after death.” There are two conditions for making such oaths: First, it will definitely come true after a long period of time; secondly, not attaining accomplishment is the worst punishment for a cultivator.

That’s why, being extremely compassionate and could not bear to see anyone fall into the three lower realms, the Buddha Master later said: If someone makes a vow voluntarily, do not vow that you might “go to hell after death.” Rather, use words like “I will definitely be poverty-stricken in this lifetime, and my life will be miserable,” or “I will be sickness-ridden.” This kind of vow will definitively come true after a long period of time, especially if they are made in a temple or in the Grand Hall of Shakyamuni Buddha.

I will tell you another factual example. Once, there was a master, some of you here certainly know him. I won’t say his name. He once cheated money from people to buy a house for himself. When he came to the Buddha Master’s Vajra Mandala to seek an audience with the Buddha, the Buddha asked him about that, and he said he didn’t defraud anyone for money. He immediately made a vow in front of the Buddha: He vowed that if he cheated anyone for money, he would be hit by a car once he stepped outside the front gate. I was at the Vajra Mandala that day, and of course he wasn’t hit by a car. However, after this master returned to his own country, those who were deceived by him sued him. This case went to trial, it was proven that he did defraud quite a few people for money. This master was eventually sentenced to imprisonment. This is indeed a factual example of someone making a false vow. However, I would like to remind you that the law of causality never errs. Do you think there is no consequence for making a false vow? You will be reaping the corresponding outcome.

Third, many people say: “The Buddha and Fomu have always been so compassionate. When this kind of matter happens, They will definitely be merciful toward living beings. Why wasn’t the Headquarters being more compassionate and just criticize these people in private? Why did they have to issue a public announcement?” This kind of saying is extremely ridiculous. They basically don’t understand the principles of Buddha Dharma. They don’t understand what true compassion is. If I am to elaborate on this question, it will take too much time. I will only put forward a few questions for you to think about: Buddhas are the most compassionate beings throughout the universe, but why did Buddhas stipulate so many precepts as guidance, model, and restraint for Buddhists’ words and deeds? Did the Buddha want to deliberately torment Buddhists? The Buddhas are compassionate even toward evil demons, then why did They also transform into the Vajra Beings to eliminate the demons that harm living beings?

Do not equate being compassionate with being unprincipled. Do not equate being a compassionate person with an unprincipled person who just wants to be nice. Genuine loving-kindness and compassion are about how to protect living beings’ opportunity to attain wisdom, and what is truly beneficial to living beings to enable them to attain liberation and accomplishment. Further, are you already a Holy Guru or a Bodhisattva, or are you an ordinary being who is still learning from Buddha to cultivate yourself? You must understand that the Buddha being compassionate is what the Buddha does. As ordinary beings, we cannot assume the enlightenment state of the Buddha. As Buddhists, we must strictly abide by the precepts, otherwise we will only degenerate. Therefore, reflect upon this, then listen to the audio recorded Dharmas imparted by His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III. I believe you will understand why the Headquarters must issue the announcement, and why the Headquarters is truly compassionate in doing so.

Fourth, the announcement issued by the Headquarters is not just about those two people. Some people have equally serious problems. So, how should we treat those so-called Buddhists who do not follow the teachings of the Buddha, do not abide by the precepts, and obstinately do not admit their wrongdoing? Some people say that they are all our fellow Vajra brothers and sisters, and we are a family, so we need to support and help each other. Simply put, this is a wrong view! When the Namo World Honored Shakyamuni Buddha was asked this question before entering parinirvana, Shakyamuni Buddha taught: “Forsake them.” That means, Buddhists should stay far away from this kind of evil people, let them live and die on their own, and eventually receive their retribution from causality. Since we are ordinary people, we can’t afford to inflict ourselves with that kind of dark karma. Only great Buddhas and Bodhisattvas can edify these evil people. As living beings, we must stay far away from them. Therefore, the only thing we must do is to follow the teachings of the Buddha.

To those who say they are “Vajra brothers and sisters” I can only say that they really need to make good effort to listen to and learn from the audio recorded Dharma Discourses. This reminds me of some time ago, some people were burning Buddhist books, Buddha statues and audio recorded Dharma Discourse CD’s. Those people are no doubt evil demons. Yet, some other people still wanted to help those evil demons, and as a result, they got themselves stricken with dark karma. It can be said with certainty that eventually, these people will descend to hell along with those evil demons and they will undergo all kinds of sufferings. In the end, they will still need Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to save them.

From another perspective, let’s think about this: Why have so many people brought up so many questions? It is precisely because they have not made good effort to respectfully listen to the audio recorded Dharmas imparted by His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III. They have not made good effort to apply what the Buddha teaches in resolving problems they encounter in their daily lives and in their cultivation. The process involves listening, contemplating, practicing cultivation, and eventually attaining fruition. If you only listen, but do not contemplate, and do not practice cultivation, then of course you will not attain fruition! Therefore, I once again emphasize: It is very, extremely important that everyone respectfully listens to the Dharmas imparted by Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III! You must listen to them earnestly, not half-heartedly.

The third aspect is about the Office of His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III.

A few days ago, someone forwarded a question asking if the Office could still represent the Buddha now? Whatever motivated this person to ask such a question, I think it is a good question. Because, in the entire universe, no one can represent the Buddha. Only a Buddha can represent another Buddha, not even Bodhisattvas! In the past, the Office served the Buddha and handled many aspects of work on behalf of Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III. However, after the Buddha entered parinirvana, there is no longer the issue of representing the Buddha or not!

Other than praying for the return of the Buddha and Fomu to the human world as soon as possible, the main duty of the Office now is to organize and translate the audio recorded Dharmas imparted by His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III. This is for the benefit of all living beings. Going forward, generally speaking, the Office will only publish transcriptions and translations of newly released audio recorded Dharma Discourses and will not be issuing any other announcements. Everyone from the Office, including myself, have not and will not use the Office as a pretext to do anything unrelated to His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III; Namo Fomu, Holy Mother the Great Mahasattva; Buddha Dharma; or audio recorded Dharmas imparted by the Buddha. The Office will do our utmost to organize the audio recorded Dharmas imparted by the Buddha as soon as possible, so that everyone can respectfully listen to and learn from the teachings. The organizing of a recent set of audio recorded Dharma Discourses, Namo Dorje Chang Buddha III Imparts Dharma During a Trip in Response to the Karmic Conditions and Needs of Disciples is now complete, and the English translation is in progress. There are 15 chapters in total. These Dharma Discourses are very important. I hope you will respectfully request for these CD’s from the International Buddhist Sangha Association before you return to your cities or countries. After respectfully listening to them, you will understand a lot of truths.

For matters relating to Buddha Dharma, the Holy Gurus at the Headquarters will issue announcements. You must study and understand the announcements issued by the Headquarters with a serious attitude.

Finally, I will say this again: My personal level is poor, and my abilities are very limited. With great humility, what I said today is only from my own experience and thoughts, which I hope you may use as a reference. If you think what I said is wrong, it doesn’t matter. My only hope is that all people and all living beings can learn the Dharma of His Holiness Dorje Chang Buddha III and truly become liberated Holy Gurus, so that they can save more living beings.

Addendum: For English speakers, although this article references audio recordings and offers instructions on listening to Dharma Discourses, the same guidance and recommendations will apply to the English translations of Dharma Discourses that are published.

Translation reposted from Holy Vajrasana Temple

Namo Amitabha

Transcript of Venerable Tsemang’s Recent Talks with Buddhists

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